


under the radar

by huff_le_puff



Series: No Second Chances Allowed [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chronic Illness, Filius Flitwick is a good professor, Forehead Kisses, Hogwarts First Year, Mentions of Stabbing, Platonic Cuddling, mentioned stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23091181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huff_le_puff/pseuds/huff_le_puff
Summary: Meet Lydia, a confused eleven year old who is way out of her depth.Lydia McBrien has never had friends, but she's always had magic. She's about to learn what this whole "friendship" thing is, and a multitude of other boring subjects (Really, Binns? Talk about some other war for Merlin' sake!).She's always been told to keep under the radar, never be noticed. But that isn't simple to do when you're in a magical school that has a famous savior, trolls, two headed professors, three headed dogs, and a poltergeist that has for some reason taken you under its wing. Oh, and when Filch likes you. Yeah, that definitely doesn't make her stick out.Updates every Tuesday.
Relationships: Filius Flitwick & Original Female Character(s), Fred Weasley & George Weasley & Original Female Character(s), Neville Longbottom & Original Female Character(s)
Series: No Second Chances Allowed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659640
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	1. The Small Professor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So yes, Hogwarts was a little strange, and she would definitely need a ton of Tylenol, but it was better than her lonely little flat in Ireland."  
> \----------  
> Filius Flitwick enjoys blowing Muggleborn minds more than he probably should, but at least he doesn't break doors off their hinges.

In a small flat near Sligo, Ireland lives a young girl. She sits arguing on the telephone, surrounded by stacks of books and with a grey kitten on her shoulders. 

“ - Dad, I thought we talked about this! I’m very sorry you didn’t want to come, but Mom and I are happy here - oh just a second, there’s somebody at the door.” 

She puts the red telephone back on its hook and runs to the door. Instead of seeing Ms. Waters, the elderly lady in the flat two doors over, she sees a short man. He’s beaming up at her, and is holding a long stick. “Hello, young miss,” he says in a squeaky voice, “Do you happen to be Lydia McBrien?”

She frowns and says, “Yes, and who are you?”

“Professor Filius Flitwick, from the school of Hogwarts. Is your mother home?”

She frowns, and calls into the flat, “Grandfather, there’s a man here! He’s talking about some school and wants to speak to Mom!”

Someone grunts from a few rooms away and appears next to Lydia after a few minutes. He stares down at Professor Flitwick. “You are?”

“Professor Filius Flitwick, good sir! I’ve come on behalf of a very prestigious school to offer your granddaughter admission.”

The old man frowns for a moment longer before offering his hand, “Louie Linden, this is my granddaughter Lydia. Though I suppose you know her name if you’re offering some kind of...school?” He opens the door wide and pulls Lydia behind him and away from the professor. “Lydia, did you finish your call?”

“Yes, he’s challenging as always.” 

The man laughed. “Go on, make up three cocoas.”

The professor was led through the cramped sitting room and into a kitchen that, if possible, was even more cramped. It barely had space for the small table with three chairs, but they were all able to squeeze into it, with Lydia sitting on the counter.

“Would you like a brownie, Mister Flitwick? We haven’t got any of the tea most Brits like, but we’ve got coffee if you don't like the cocoa. Mom practically lives off it.”

“No, thank you, Miss McBrien.”

“How come you know my name? I never told you. And you couldn’t have guessed from Grandfather’s because our last names are different.”

“I had to know your name so I could give you this letter, Miss McBrien.” He went to hand her a yellowed envelope, but her grandfather took it before she could. Lydia didn’t seem too upset, almost expecting it. She explained to a confused professor, “He’s just looking at it first to make sure it’s safe, Mister Flitwick. He worries a lot. It’s why he’s got all those grey hairs.”

At the last comment Louie threw the parchment at her. “One day that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble, young lady.”

“As you’ve said,” she grinned, and it was then that the professor noticed something he hadn’t before - the child had a jagged pink scar from near her temple to her mouth. Now that he had seen it, he noticed every movement she made pulled it taut. “Mister Flitwick, what is...Hograts? It sounds like some roleplay game thing.”

“Hogwarts, my dear,” he corrected. “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to be precise. You have magic, and we at Hogwarts would like to teach you how to use it.”

Louie got down to business fast. “Professor Flitwick. How are we to believe this is not some elaborate prank? Magic exists, you say? What evidence do you have?”

Professor Flitwick clapped his hands. “Ah, this is my favorite part!” He pulled the stick from earlier out of his sleeve and pointed it at the empty vase on the table. He whispered something that sounded like a mix of English and some other language, and the vase changed from pink to blue and bronze. “Tada!”

Lydia gasped and hopped from the counter, running her fingers over the vase. “Woah, and that was magic?”

Louie looked impressed and annoyed about it. “How do you know my Lydia has it? She’s never changed a vase’s colors.”

“There was that time I accidentally changed Mom’s favorite skirt purple.”

“Most of the time accidental magic - what most children do before Hogwarts - is triggered by extreme emotions, such as fear. Miss McBrien, have you ever been scared and done something you didn’t mean to?”

Lydia and her grandfather exchanged a look, and she knew he was thinking of the same event as her. When her grandmother had died, she had been there. And when the rest of her family had found her hugging the dead body, everything in the room had been shattered or lit on fire. Even the things she couldn’t reach or wouldn’t have caught on fire normally. It had been chalked up to a coincidence, but they had been careful not to leave her alone after that.

“Yes, Sir. So what happens now?”

“Well, the decision hasn’t been made yet. I will tell you more about Hogwarts and then you can decide. Of course, your parents will have to give their permission, but you have time. The deadline for admission isn’t until late July.”

“But that’s like, two months!” Lydia whined.

Her grandfather smiled fondly. “What kinds of classes does Hogwarts offer? I noticed there was something about brooms on the list, what is that about?”

“Oh, you needn’t worry about a broom yet. First years aren’t allowed their own brooms at Hogwarts. She’ll use the school’s to fly in classes until she gets her own. That is, if she even likes flying. Many Muggleborn don’t enjoy it.”

“Muggle?”

“Ah, yes. A Muggleborn is someone from non-magical parents. Anywho, the day is passing so do you have any more questions?”

“Yes, two more I believe. How costly will this be? I can’t imagine those crystal phials are cheap. Also, what is safety like?”

Professor Flitwick hummed. “If needed, Hogwarts does provide financial aid to those who ask. As for safety… Our world, just as yours, has had its fair share of danger. Our recent war ended ten years ago however, and we have been as safe as can be since then! With any boarding school, Hogwarts is dangerous. After all, if you put thousands of children together for ten months things will get hectic! But Hogwarts and her staff work very hard to keep things safe. Your granddaughter will be sorted into one of four houses, and her Head of House will provide anything from sage comfort to discipline.”

Lydia hummed to herself. “It sounds pretty cool, Grandfather. What about the subjects I learn in school now? Are there any of those? I see Potions and Herbology, but no Literature.”

“Hogwarts offers a Muggle Studies class when you begin third year, but I am afraid no other Muggle classes.”

“Oh.” Both Lydia and Louie frowned.

Professor Flitwick stood. “I understand the apprehension. By the end of the month, if you could please owl me your answer, I will gladly take you to the shopping district.”

“Owl?”

“Yes. That is the magical method of mailing. I’ll have one of the Hogwarts owls stop by every now and then for you. Gooday!”

They showed him to the door, then waited for Lydia’s mother to get home. They had quite the decision to make.

It was barely a week later when Professor Flitwick received a reply. So, he delivered Lydia and her mother to Diagon Alley. And what a wondrous place it was! All the lights and magic gave Lydia a killer headache, but she couldn’t help wanting to see it over again.

They had gotten most of her supplies, only needing to pick up her potions ingredients, when Professor Flitwick suggested they sit down, as Lydia was looking exhausted.

Having got lunch, Lydia’s mother said, “I have a question, Mister Flitwick.”

“Yes, of course.”

“What is your healthcare system? My daughter gets ill easily.”

Said girl grumbled into her chicken wrap.

“Well,” Professor Flitwick said, “in many ways our health care is more advanced, Mrs. McBrien. a broken bone can be healed in seconds. However, there are many Muggle diseases we have no knowledge of, and as such cannot heal by magical means. Does Miss McBrien have a diagnosis?”

Lydia shook her head, pouting. “All the doctors say I’m some kinda medical mystery. I don’t really care, I’m just really tired of being so ill, you know?”

Professor Flitiwck smiled sadly at her. “I should tell you a few more things, actually. The first is that of the houses you may belong to. My own house is Ravenclaw - home to those intelligent and creative souls. Of course, that is the most common. Every house has a multitude of personalities and traits.

Gryffindor is for those who are very brave. Gryffindors tend to charge into danger, and though some believe them the greatest house, they of course have their faults. They can be a bit bigheaded and rude, but they have great hearts.

The only house that may have bigger hearts are that of Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs are commonly thought to be pushovers, but they’re more than that. They are very hardworking and loyal, the best friends you can have. Hufflepuff chose not to define her house, so it is perhaps the most mixed house of them all. 

Finally, Slytherin house. Slytherins get a bad reputation, sadly. Ambitious and cunning, though good traits to have, are not seen as such. Slytherin honestly only has the image it does because of You-Know-Who.”

“No, I don’t,” Lydia said, tilting her head.

“Oh, right. No one likes to say his name, we’re all still very scared. He’s the evil wizard I mentioned earlier.”

They both hummed.

Professor Flitwick thought to himself for a moment before saying, “Now, I recommend you read up on our sport, Quidditch. I’m not an avid fan myself, but if you wish to survive your peers you’d best have some knowledge. Now, let’s get you home, shall we?”

He took them by the arm and did what he called Apparition.

If Lydia knew one thing for sure, it was that she hated Apparition. Her chicken wrap nearly came back up.

The nearly two months of waiting felt like pure torture. But now, she was here. Hogwarts was kind of weird, so far. She’d only been here a few hours, but it was very loud. And everyone was way more nosy than they had any right to be.

In the first hour of sitting on the train, she had been interrupted by two girls barging in. One of them, a blond girl with a lot of lip gloss, had sat across from her and asked, “What's with the scar?”

“Lav!” The other girl, one with brightly painted nail polish, had gasped. “You can’t just go around asking people why they’ve got scars. . . But yeah, is that a curse scar like the Harry Potter’s?”

“Uh, no. I was stabbed.” She was glaring, she knew, but she couldn’t help herself. Just who did these girls think they were?

As if hearing Lydia’s question, Nail Polish Girl held out her hand. “Sue Li, and that’s Lavender Brown.”

“Lydia McBrien.”

A few moments of awkward silence and Lavender had changed the subject to beauty potions, mentioning that there would probably be something to help Lydia’s ‘problem’. God, Lydia hated people her age.

She had been near screaming by the time she was sorted, her ears felt like they were bleeding and she had told an unnaturally blond boy to ‘shut your mouth before I force you to eat the sorting hat’ to which he had told her she should be scared of his father. But finally,  _ finally _ , she had been sorted. And the clapping after that nearly killed her, she swears. 

Before she could bother trying to find a seat with the other first years, a brunette girl had yanked her by the sleeve, freeing up the seat next to her. The girl who had been previously sitting there, her braided hair was spun into a bun, pouted. “Katie!”

“What,” Katie grinned, “Poor kid’s clearly going to murder someone if she doesn’t get some kinda quiet. Which I can provide.” Katie turned to Lydia, “Lydia, right? Here, put these earplugs in.”

Lydia looked at the yellow rubber plugs with suspicion but put them in, almost automatically slumping. “Thanks, uh, Katie?”

Katie gave her a thumbs up, and left her to blissful silence. She only nudged her when the prefects stood to leave.

So yes, Hogwarts was a little strange, and she would definitely need a ton of Tylenol, but it was better than her lonely little flat in Ireland. Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet had helped her, so it couldn’t possibly be bad here. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thank you all for reading! This fic has been in the works for MONTHS (around July 2019, so 8ish) and I'm very excited to get it out there. It's not all written up quite yet, but it is outlined so here's to hoping I won't mess it up lol.  
> Word count is 2127, let me know if the chapter should be longer!  
> -kat


	2. An Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia isn't quite sure what to think of the girls she shared her dorm with. Parvati and Lavender were loud and gossiped too much, Fay was quiet and shy, and Hermione was obstinate and nosy. But she makes an alliance of sorts with one of them - even if she kind of wants to punch the girl most days.
> 
> \----------
> 
> Lydia definitely didn’t hate the girls, but the only one she didn’t want to throttle after half a minute was Fay Dunbar. Lavender and Parvati were always trying to put makeup on her, Hermione liked to recite the rulebook, and Fay was quiet. Lydia liked Fay’s quiet personality because the others were much too loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On last week's:
> 
> Lydia McBrien learns of a whole second world, one with magic, and castles, and a hat that talks? Weird, really weird. Also, Katie Bell and her earplugs are a life saver - literally, Lydia was about to kill the next person that yelled in her ear.

Hogwarts was pretty cool, Lydia would admit. She wasn't fond of her dormmates, but it didn’t really matter as she never really slept in here anyway. Most nights she would fall asleep on the common room floor studying, and then she’d be shaken awake by Katie or Alicia. 

Her main problem with the arrangement is that Hermione Granger took it personally. Lydia thought she would probably be a good friend if she wasn’t so condescending. Every morning Hermione would block her way out when Lydia had gotten ready to leave and demand why she hadn’t seen her the night before. After the first few nights Lydia had taken to loudly saying, “I’m really sorry, but I don’t know anything about lip gloss. Perhaps you could ask Lavender?” Hermione had stuck with glaring at her after that.

Lydia definitely didn’t hate the girls, but the only one she didn’t want to throttle after half a minute was Fay Dunbar. Lavender and Parvati were always trying to put makeup on her, Hermione liked to recite the rulebook, and Fay was quiet. Lydia liked Fay’s quiet personality because the others were much too loud.

Now, Lydia wished she had been nicer to Hermione. There had been a collection of books Professor Flitwick recommended she buy, ones to help Muggleborns acclimate to wizarding society. But Lydia had barely been able to afford the required materials, and the books were twice as expensive as the coursebooks! So, she knew Hermione would likely have them, and she had to ask. She just didn’t know how to make her agree. That was how she was in the library a few tables away, trying to get her courage. She had no idea why she was put into Gryffindor, because she was very nervous. Sitting across from her bag, she opened it and let the cover thud on the tabletop. It had been a little too forceful, if Madam Pince’s gasp was anything to go by. “Hermione, right?”

Hermione watched her suspiciously, but looked so desperate to talk. “Yes, who are you? I don’t think we’ve met.”

Lydia knew that had to be a lie, because Hermione had forced her to have sausage this morning. Her stomach was still aching from it. “Lydia, Lydia McBrien. We’re dorm mates.”

Hermione blushed. “Right, sorry. Book fog. What did you need?”

“Ah, well. When I was getting my school stuff, the professor suggested some books for Muggleborns but I couldn’t buy them and I was wondering if you had any I could borrow.”

Hermione’s eyes lit up. “Of course! Though I have got a question.”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you talk like that? Oh no, that’s not what I meant! Your voice is just weird. Wait, no - I meant - oh god - Your accent. It’s nothing I’ve heard before. Oh, I’ve really gone and messed this up!”

“Hermione, Hermione,” Lydia could feel the grin, “It’s fine! I’m not from around here. I was born in North America. The States specifically.” She had to use her book so Madam Pince didn’t kick them out for laughing. 

Hermione frowned, filing the information away for later. “Well let’s go back to the dorm now. I haven’t got all my books with me.” Without letting Lydia reply, she dragged her by the wrist across the castle and into their dorm.

She wasn’t sure how they had begun discussing it, but Hermione and Lydia were planning their own business. It had truly started out as them reading the Muggleborn aid books side by side, but then they had started trading ideas for how it could be improved, and things the books had left out. And now… Well let’s just say they had drawn up a four year plan, forgetting they were eleven and definitely wouldn’t have the funds for a business.

“What I don’t get is why we can’t use pens!” Lydia was ranting, “Surely a two quid pack from Staples would be better than quills and pots of ink.”

“Yeah, but it’s for the aesthetic. Wizards are really dramatic, remember.”

Lydia hummed. “Yeah, true. But still, parchment? They’re putting in way too much effort. And owls? Come on, that’s ridiculous.”

“But if you think about it, no one would be able to get up here to get our letters and such. Birds do it well.”

“Yeah, but don’t you remember that poor bird the redheaded family have? It landed in Percy’s oatmeal this morning.”

“Yeah, but it’s old.”

“Still. And what happens when their owners decide they can’t be used anymore? Shoot ‘em like a dog?”

“Wizards don’t have guns, Lydia.”

Lydia snorted. “Not the point, Hermione.”

“Right. Also kind of stupid how there’s nothing against the Daily Prophet writing about minors.”

“Yeah, I thought that was fishy. We’ve got laws against that so I wanna know why the wizards don’t. Besides, you know, they wouldn’t get to take advantage of minors’ fame or whatever.”

“Did you see the article that was published after Harry got sorted?”

Lydia snorted. “The one that said the hat shouldn’t have hesitated, or the one that said he was his parents through and through?”

“Both were ridiculous.”

Hermione was a very good acquaintance, but they had many disagreements. The worst part about her new acquaintance, in Lydia’s opinion, was that she believed in all authority and didn’t believe they were ever wrong. Lydia knew adults were wrong sometimes, but Hermione always disagreed. Lydia had first learnt this after their first lesson with Professor Snape, the potions professor.

“He’s a bit of a jerk, isn’t he?”

“He’s _strict_ , and he should be! His subject is very dangerous.”

Lydia had scoffed. “Professor McGonagall is strict, Professor Snape’s just a dick with a grudge towards lions.”

Hermione had gasped, so Lydia had quickly added, “You can’t possibly have missed the questions he asked Potter. Those questions were _years_ above our level, Hermione. Years! And he expected Harry to know them? Pretty dickish if you ask me.”

“Well I didn’t ask you!”

“Jeez, do you fancy Professor Snape or something? All I’m saying is he was kinda mean. I much prefer Professor Flitwick.”

“You’re wrong, and disrespectful.”

Lydia had shrugged then. “We can disagree, then. Your opinion is valid even if it’s not mine.”

“And your opinion is valid, even if it’s _stupid_.”

Hermione had left then, angry.

God, she really wished punching wouldn't get her a detention. Hermione's nose would look much better broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thanks for reading the chapter lovelies! I'm going to give you at least 1,000 words per chapter, if possible. This was a pretty short chapter, and so will next week's be most likely. But things will pick up!
> 
> Word count: 1063  
> -kat


	3. Insomnia and An Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You should go back to bed, Lydia. I have to follow Harry and Ronald on their idiotic adventure.”
> 
> “Oh cool, I’m in. Beats sleeping.”
> 
> Hermione spluttered. “I didn’t invite you!”
> 
> “Neither did they.”
> 
> OR
> 
> Lydia, a victim of insomnia, decides to follow after Hermione, Harry, and Ron when they wander through the halls. This turns out to be a mistake.

Lydia hated insomnia. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt rested, and being knocked out did not count. It also left her feeling more tired than before so...no dice. 

So, as she was pretending to sleep, she noticed Hermione sneak from her own bed, her robe wrapped tightly around her. Fay, Parvati, and Lavender had been asleep for hours, so she didn’t bother worrying about them. A quick look at the beds confirmed that Fay was cuddling one of her books, and the other two girls were cuddling in Parvati’s bed, practically suffocating under Lavender’s thick hair. Their pajamas were matching shades of pink with small purple unicorns stamped all over. It was cute. 

She tiptoed behind Hermione, and found the reason she wasn’t asleep - Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Hermione had a bit of an obsession with catching the two rule breaking. Right now, Hermione was near tears. She was so angry with the two boys, and they were giggling. Lydia knew the two boys were basically attached at the hip, despite only knowing each other for a week and a half. It was slightly creepy. What was _more_ creepy was the fact that Hermione practically stalked them, trying to find broken rules. Despite their alliance, Lydia still had to resist the urge to punch Hermione at least twice a day. She was working on it. 

Lydia had thus far been watching unnoticed, but a badly stifled giggle had Hermione rounding on her and demanding, “And just what are _you_ doing out of bed?”

“I could ask the same of you, Hermione. Weren’t you just saying this morning that sleep is crucial to academic performance?”

Hermione flushed. “You should go back to bed, Lydia. _I_ have to follow Harry and Ronald on their idiotic adventure.”

“Oh cool, I’m in. Beats sleeping.”

Hermione spluttered. “I didn’t invite you!”

“Neither did they.”

Lydia gave a sweet smile and stepped halfway out the Fat Lady’s portrait. “Coming Hermione? They’re halfway down the corridor by now.”

Hermione ran past Lydia, nearly shoving her.

Neville was found almost immediately after the portrait was closed, and Lydia hurried to help him stand, as his foot had fallen asleep.

“Why aren’t you in the dorm, Neville?” She whispered, watching the corridor for professors.

He sighed, lifting the arm that had been hurt during flying lessons. “Madam Pomfrey fixed me up pretty quick, but by time I got to the tower the password had changed.

She frowned. “Oh. Well you could have gotten Professor McGonagall, couldn’t you’ve?”

He shook his head. “No way! She’s scary.” They laughed, then he whispered, “So why are you out here? I get Hermione because she’s kind of nosy, and Harry and Ron are going to duel Malfoy or something. But you usually stay away from that mess.”

She snorted, slinging an arm over his shoulders. “Insomnia is a bitch, my dear Neville. I figure once Harry and Ron get sick of Hermione’s nagging things’ll get entertaining.”

Neville frowned ahead of them, where Hermione was hissing something in Ron’s ear, and he was getting redder in the neck. “I’m scared of the fallout.”

She grinned and grabbed his hand. “I’ll protect you.”

He laughed quietly, then pointed to her robe. “Stars. Do you like astronomy?”

She shrugged. “This is actually my grandma’s old robe. I’m not a fan of the class, but I like looking at stars. It makes me feel less important, which is soothing.”

“Weird.”

Barely half an hour after the two had begun swinging their linked hands as they walked, they were back in the common room, panting like dogs.

“Do . . . you know how - oh my god my ribs hurt - utterly stupid . . . that was?” Lydia was kneeling on the floor, tuning out Hermione’s scolding.

Neville was crouched next to her, also gasping for breath, “I . . . know! And did you see the size of that beast?”

She groaned. “Don’t remind me! Why on earth did I go? I thought it was just going to be a boring duel!”

“Oh yes,” snarked Neville, “a duel would have been so _boring_.”

“Since when are you sarcastic?”

“Almost dying does that to a person.”

She snorted, and then they were laughing hysterically, full of adrenaline and slumped against each other.

Just when they had calmed down, Ron exclaimed, “That girl _needs_ to sort out her priorities!”

They looked to Harry and Ron, who looked more than annoyed. Hermione was gone.

Lydia and Neville made eye contact and erupted into laughter again.

Sitting on the floor of Gryffindor’s common room, laughing harder than she had in years, Lydia couldn’t find it in her to care that her ribs were hurting so bad she could barely breathe. She wasn’t nervous, nor was she trying to make a million plans for possible disasters. She just felt like a kid. 

She quite liked the feeling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Lovelies! This was such a short chapter, but the next one is very long! I want to make sure y’all know this isn’t going to be me bashing Hermione, even though right now it kind of comes across like that. Things will get better!  
> -kat  
> Word count: 805


	4. A New Development: Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wait. If we’re working together we should be friends. So...friends?”  
> She stared at him for a few moments. This was the moment - she could finally have a friend. Not an acquaintance, not someone she was forced to hang out with for her family’s business, an honestly true friend.  
> She stuck her hand out. “Sure. What do friends do?”
> 
>   
> \- - - - - 
> 
> Lydia, who had never had a real friend, makes two in one go. Things are bound to get interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last week:   
> Lydia suffers through a bout of insomnia, and follows a trio of other first years to a duel. Except it turns out the duel was a set up and she instead came face to face with a terrifying three headed dog. She was really beginning to wonder if this magical world is as safe as Professor Flitwick said it was.

Fred and George Weasley were undefinable. Lydia honestly couldn’t think of a word in any language for them. She had noticed a few differences between the two as she got to know them, but she really couldn’t describe them as one word. 

Everyone had a word. Everyone. Her grandfather was protective. Her mom - cynical. Her dad - difficult. Hermione - stubborn. Professor Flitwick - joyful. You get the point. She had an entire list dedicated to these words, but all that was next to Fred and George Weasley’s names was a blank. And she couldn’t stand it! How is someone undefinable?

She had first come across the twins after their first prank of the year. It was simple, and nothing like the legends she heard from previous years. A shoe switch was all they had done. She needed to know how they’d done it, and how to find who had hers so she could get the ten quid she had stashed in her sneakers back. 

“Weasleys!” She called, finding them snickering at their brothers, both of whom were whining. 

All four Weasleys turned to her. 

“I’d like to speak with you, Fred and George.” She said, staring at Percy and Ron until they left, complaining to each other. “So, your prank was pretty sick.”

They grin. One says, “Quite the compliment from such a scary looking firstie!” 

“Ron only listens to our mum as easily as just now.”

She snorted. “He hasn’t even seen my glare yet.”

They exchanged looks between the two of them, then nodded. 

The first one that had spoken tilted his head and stared at her. 

She stared back. 

They stared at each other until he suddenly blinked. “Hell, firstie! My eyes are burning, why are you so good at this?”

She smiled. “A secret talent, I guess. Anyway, I just wanted to ask if the prank is gonna wear off.”

The other twin smirked. “You’ll have to see for yourself!”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. But if I don’t get the ten quid back from my sneakers you’re paying for it.” She turned to leave, before saying, “Hey, could your next prank be a suggestion?”

They raised their eyebrows in sync, and she barely repressed a shiver. 

“Well, I don’t see why not. What do you say, Gred?”

“I say we hear the firstie out, Forge!”

She giggled. “Okay so I think you should put Alihotsy leaves or Draught in the food. It’s harmless, and hilarious.”

“What’s it gonna do?”

She grinned. “Do some research. It’s a plant so I’d suggest Herbology books.”

Before they could question her further, she was skipping away to dinner. 

The twins had put the prank into motion only a week later. Sitting next to Katie, Lydia locked eyes with them, laughing so hard tears fell in her cereal. 

The second time Lydia came into contact with the Weasley twins was unintentional. She had been sitting in a corridor with her potions textbook, trying to memorize the Pompion Potions ingredients. What felt like a gust of chilly wind went through her, and then what looked like a grey boy was in front of her. 

She jumped, and shrieked, “Who the hell are you?!”

He gave a cackle. “Why, I’m Peevesie!”

She frowned up at him. “Peeves, like the notorious poltergeist?”

Peevsie nodded. “Yes, yes, yes! Peevsie needs your help!”

She tilted her head. “With what?”

He sat cross cords, and hovered just in front of her book. “To pull...a _prank_.”

She frowned. “On who? And why me?”

“You look in need of some trouble! Look at the bags under your peepers!”

She pouted. “Fine, I give you that. But who is getting pranked?”

“Minnie and Snapey!”

She laughed. “ _Them?_ Peevesie, I’ll be killed!”

Peevesie shook his (its?) head. “Peevsie will do it all! Peevsie just needs kiddie’s help.”

She shrugged. “Yeah okay. What do you need?”

It turns out Peeves didn’t need much help. All he needed from her was to distract Professor McGonagall while he switched her and Snape’s drinks. Snape was hardly as early as Professor McGonagall was, and she was _always_ early. So, Lydia had just asked Professor McGonagall questions about her “growing body”, which the woman had answered efficiently. It was quite embarrassing, but at least Lydia knew what to expect now. 

The prank was marvelous. Professor McGonagall and Snape switched bodies. Lydia had no clue how Peeves had done it, but he did. It was weird to say the very least. Snape’s voice coming from Professor McGonagall’s body was jarring, but seeing Snape with perfect posture and Professor McGonagall’s glare was terrifying. 

When she had left the Great Hall, she spotted Peeves, and went to him. She hadn’t noticed the Weasley twins following and listening to their hushed conversation. 

Finally, after Peeves had told her for the third time how much havoc this would cause, some of them speaks up. 

“There is _no way_ a little firstie like you did all that!”

She turned and snorted. “Obviously not. Peevesie came to me. All I did was help with a few little things. Right, Peevesie?”

Peeves nodded. “Peevsie did most of it all! Kiddie only helped poor Peevsie. Off Peevsie goes, to wreak havoc on Hoggyland!” And off he went. 

Both twins were gawping at her, so she reached forward and gently lifted their chins to close their mouths. “Careful, flies.”

They both flushed, and one of them said, “You helped Peeves?”

She grinned. “Yeah. Of course I’d have never pulled something like that off on my own. After all, I’m _just a little firstie._ ”

The one who had said it before let out a laugh, his twin following. 

“So, firstie-”

“Call me Lydia.”

“Lydia, then.” Corrected the other twin, “How would you feel-”

“-teaming up with the-”

“-greatest mischief makers-”

“-since the Marauders themselves!”

She raised an eyebrow at the disjointed speaking. “Teaming up how? I’m not taking the brunt for your schemes.”

“No, no way. Just helping us out.”

“Yeah,” the other said, “People are always expecting something from us. You’ve got a clean record.”

She hummed. “Okay. One condition.”

“What’s that?” They said as one. 

Taking a sharpie from her bag, she took the cap off. “Who’s Fred? And don’t lie.”

They frowned at each other, then Fred pointed to George. 

She scoffed and, before they could stop her, drew a smiley face on Fred’s cheek. “I said _don’t_ lie, dumbasses.”

She stepped back and smiled. “There, now I can tell who is who.”

They were frowning at her. Fred said, “How did you know we lied?”

She hesitated. Then, “My job back home was to figure out if the family’s clients were lying. I got a knack for it.”

“Clients?”

She nods. “We have a...family business of sorts. Anyway, see you at lunch.”

George reaches out to grab the strap of her bag. “Wait. If we’re working together we should be friends. So...friends?”

She stared at him for a few moments. This was the moment - she could finally have a friend. Not an acquaintance, not someone she was forced to hang out with for her family’s business, an honestly true friend. 

She stuck her hand out. “Sure. What do friends do?”

Fred cocked his head at her and said, shaking her hand, “Guess you’ll have to stick around and find out, Lydia.”

“Okay. Can I sit with y’all at lunch?”

Before George could say that she couldn’t sit with the Quidditch team, Fred nodded. “Of course! What friends don’t sit together?”

“How many lessons have you got until then?” George asked, deciding that while Fred definitely understood something more than he did, he was not going to sit back and say nothing. Fred was more perceptive, but George had a big mouth. 

“A free period. I was gonna play with Stoner.”

George grinned. “Is stoner a code name for Sprout’s stash?”

Lydia frowned. “Stash? Of what?”

“Sprout's addiction to acid pops!” Fred exclaimed, clamping a hand over George’s grin. “George is being stupid. But really? What’s stoner?”

“That was a total lie, but okay. And Stoner is my cat. Mom thought the name was stupid too.”

“For research purposes I need to meet this cat,” George decided. 

“Research purposes.” Lydia deadpanned. 

“Research purposes!”

“What, you never seen a cat?”

Fred grinned at his twin. “Not a cat named Stoner.”

She sighed. “I’ve got the feeling my life is about to get really fucking weird with you two around.”

And it did. She’d barely known the twins for a month, and here she was, with her hair dyed neon yellow and laughing. She knew that what she and the twins had was more than all of the other friends she had tried to make. 

She looked away from the bird she was watching hop to near the lake, where Fred and George were wrestling. “Hey, Freddie! Georgie!”

They looked up and waved. 

She waved back and grinned. 

Friends. This was new. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! I hope everyone is staying safe today. This was such an exciting chapter to write, and I’m very excited for the year to start picking up now that Fred and George are around.
> 
> Word count: 1488


	5. The Hug Theory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Does every professor sit on the floor?”  
> “I can confirm they do not.”  
> “Good, I was a bit frightened by the idea of Professor McGonagall sitting criss-cross-applesauce on a pillow.”  
> \----------  
> Lydia and her favorite professor test a theory, sit on pillows, and have a chat - Lydia pretends to enjoy the tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last week: Lydia helps Peeves and makes her first ever friends. Fred and George then meet her cat, purely for research purposes and definitely not as an excuse to pet a cat. Totally.

Lydia had just finished dinner, and was wandering the halls when her favorite professor called out to her. “Miss McBrien!”

She turned, smiling. “Hi, Professor Flitwick. Can I do something for you?”

“Come have a cup of tea with me, my dear.” He held out a hand.

Taking the hand, she let him lead the way to his office. 

The office was messy; Books of all varieties were scattered on the floor and shelves. There were lots of blue banners, blankets, and vases. Bronze was scattered across the room as frames, holding photos of the professor, a woman, and a young girl. The girl seemed to be near toddler age, and she was tinier than Lydia thought possible.

Professor Flitwick sat on a pillow near the only window. He pointed to a pillow, and she took it to sit across from him. “Does every professor sit on the floor?”

He laughed. “I can confirm they do not.”

“Good, I was a bit frightened by the idea of Professor McGonagall sitting criss-cross-applesauce on a pillow.”

Professor Flitwick laughed again, and handed her a cup of tea, which she pretended to enjoy. 

After a few moments of silence, he said, “I wanted to check up on you, Miss McBrien. I’ve noticed you keep to yourself. Are you having a hard time with the other students?”

She shrugged. “They’re nice, most of them. I just don’t really know how to make friends, I guess. Well, Fred and George say we’re friends…”

“You don’t think you are?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had friends before. How do you know you’re friends?”

Professor Flitwick tapped his chin. “Ah, quite a question. I believe you can call yourself friends once you feel comfortable with that person - or persons, as it were. When you find yourself smiling just because they’re around, or when you find yourself laughing at a joke that isn’t funny but they made it so.”

She frowned. “I don’t think we’re there yet.”

“That’s alright, my dear. Do you enjoy spending time with them?”

She nodded. “Oh, definitely! They’re funny, and actually really nice. They don’t even prank me with loud things because they know I don’t like it. And once, when I had a headache, Fred hugged me so I didn’t hear the firework they’d set off.”

Professor Flitwick smiled. “Then I wager you three will be friends with some time.”

She smiled down at her teacup.

The professor wasn’t finished, apparently. “Are you feeling homesick? Most first years are by this time. If that is what’s troubling you -”

“I’m not homesick, Professor. I miss my grandfather for sure, but Mom wasn’t home enough for me to miss. It just feels like she took on one too many shifts.”

“Forgive me, but why is your mother never home?”

“She… She works a lot. When I was a kid she didn’t as much. She cared more about adventuring. When I wasn’t in school, we’d go hiking, or we’d find a city and explore it. Find museums, and libraries. Mom was always looking for an adventure that would thrill her. That’s why we moved from the States to Ireland, actually.”

“That sounds like quite the learning opportunity!”

Lydia laughed. “It was! I loved it. But then… She just stopped. We got here, and all we had was the little we brought. Mom had to pick up a job, and then another. I think she forgot what it’s like to have fun. She picks up as many shifts as humanly possible, and she’s hardly home. If she is, we barely get to hug before she’s gone again.

“Grandfather always comes home before dinner so I’m not alone long, but I haven’t eaten a meal with my mom in years.”

“Does your mother know you feel this way? If not, I suggest you tell her.”

Lydia shook her head, draining the last of her tea. “She knows. I hear her and Grandfather arguing about it sometimes. But she says we need more money. We do, so I get it. A girl just needs her mom, you know?”

Professor Flitwick glanced to a frame. In this one was that same toddler in the others, with an older woman. He nodded. “I know. I cannot imagine my poor Abigail without her mother.” He shook his head, as if to rid the thought.

She frowned. “Don't you miss her, Sir? Sorry, that’s probably not my business.”

He smiled. “Of course I miss her. But I wouldn’t give up this job for anything.”

They sat, silent, for a few moments. Then, Lydia says, “She’s very cute.”

Professor Flitwick chuckled. “She is. I’m biased, of course. Every father believes their child is the best.”

She frowned. “No, I think you’re just correct. Not every dad thinks that way.”

“Do you miss your father, Miss McBrien? I’m sure we could arrange something to help. Perhaps a Floo call. I can’t imagine it’s easy to go by Muggle means.”

She scrunches up her nose in distaste. “There’s not much to miss, Sir. I only see him when he wants me to, which is once a year or longer. He misses our supposed to be weekly calls, too. But like I said, not much to miss. He’s not the dad I grew up with anymore. He’s...meaner.”

Professor Flitwick looks at the frame again, then sighs. “Well, my dear, if you ever need a gentle presence, I am here. I couldn’t replace your family, of course, but I’ve been told I give good hugs.”

She looked directly at him. “May I test that theory?”

Professor Flitwick gave a cheery laugh and hugged her. “Is the theory correct?”

She cocked her head with a smile. “I think so, but I’d have to check again sometimes. Things change, you know?”

Flitwick laughed. “Of course. Ah, it’s nearing curfew Lydia. Get some sleep, yes?”

“Will do, Sir. See you in class tomorrow!”

Lydia quite liked Professor Flitwick. She was pretty good in his class, she liked to think, and the fact that he made it fun only helped. Every time she happened to visit him in his office, or stayed after class to chat, he would give her a bag of healthy snacks chopped into pieces. Some days it was celery and peanut butter, others it was fruit. Once he had even given her cheese cut into shapes. Since that first visit, he had told her more about his wife, and daughter Abigail. 

She had, reluctantly, spoken more about her own family with him. She lamented the fact that she had always wanted a sibling, someone to play with, but she had never had one. 

In an odd looking house in England, a little girl frowned as a voice seemed to tell her, “Over the pond, soon will come a child of the sun.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovelies! I'm so excited to introduce Professor Flitwick to this story! There'll be more of him in the next chapter, so look forward to that. Oh, and feel free to guess what that last bit was foreshadowing! Can you guess who the little girl is?
> 
> Word count: 1134


	6. The Troll, An Elf, and A Necklace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia can’t find it in her to complain when something excitingly horrifying happens the next day. Afterall, she had only wished nothing would happen for the rest of yesterday, and she really should know to be more specific when wishing for things. 
> 
> or
> 
> Hogwarts is more interesting than Lydia would have liked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Week: Lydia spends some time with her favorite professor.

Lydia and Professor Flitwick had been in the middle of discussing the softening charm - “But say one was falling to the ground from a height that could kill them. Hypothetically, would the softening charm make them not die?” “I beg you not to test this hypothesis, Lydia.” - when the professor glanced at the analog clock near one of his many framed pictures. “Ah, I’m afraid we’ve chattered right through dinner, my dear!”

Lydia frowned. “Oh. That sucks.”

Professor Flitwick chuckled. “Not to worry, I’m sure we can find us some dinner. Come along, I know just the place.”

Grabbing her bag from where it had slumped against the professor’s desk, she followed Professor Flitwick down the long corridor, and down to the dungeons. “Uh, Sir? I don’t think Professor Snape’ll be happy if we eat the potions ingredients. And I can’t say the idea of rats is at all appetising.” 

Professor Flitwick laughed. “Oh, goodness, no! I’m showing you a secret location, where we’ll find much more appetising food than rats. Will you keep it a secret?”

Lydia frowned, then nodded. “Who would I tell, Sir? You’re my best friend.”

Professor Flitwick turned to smile at her as they neared the Hufflepuff dorms, stopping at a painting of fruit. “No other friends? What about those Weasleys?”

As he opened the portrait, Lydia gasped.

There were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of what looked like odd-looking dolls. She was drawn to their large eyes, which seemed to pop out of their heads. They were all shorter than even Professor Flitwick, and instantly looked over to them when they stepped inside the large kitchen.

A frail looking house elf with a white flower behind her ear stepped forward. “What can wes elvees be doing for little Miss and Professor?”

Professor Flitwick smiled kindly at her. “We missed dinner. Would you mind fixing us up a plate each?”

Around five elves hurriedly ran to do so, and the first elf turned to go help them. Before she could, Lydia said, “Your flower is very pretty.”

The elf blushed, which looked out of place with her grey skin tone. “Oh, Rosy thanks young Miss! Rosy’s be loving flowers!”

Lydia smiled. “It looks lovely on you.”

Rosy looked near tears, and scurried away to the group of elves who had started to cook some kind of dish.

After the two had eaten, Lydia thanked all the near elves, which resulted in them crying and crowding around her and Professor Flitwick in a (very large) group hug.

As Lydia munched on the vanilla cake Rosy had made her, she thought on her past birthdays. She was turning twelve today, and the chilly weather didn’t dampen her spirits one bit. She had woken to a handmade card from Fay, though she had no idea how the girl had known it was her birthday, as she had kept it very hush hush.

She had been slightly upset the twins couldn’t spend the day with her, but she understood the need to practice Quidditch; Kind of. The day was made even better when, as she was walking out to the lake, she had been approached by Rosy. The elf had run up to her, told her happy birthday, then thrust a slice of vanilla cake covered in rainbow sprinkles at her. The cake was delicious.

It had been years since she’d actually celebrated her birthday. After her father had realized she wasn’t normal, he had seldom paid attention to her. Then when grandfather, mom, and she had moved to Ireland, money was tight. At most she was able to spend the night reading with them by her side.

All that to say, her day was going okay. She had just finished her cake, and was about to pull out a book, when she saw it. A brown Great Dane came trotting up to her, immediately licking all the frosting off her face. She laughed, gently pushing it off her. “Where’d you come from, baby?”

The dog gave a quiet chuff, then started to trot away, before looking back at her expectantly. Making sure to grab the plate and fork she had been eating with, she followed it to a pumpkin patch. Confused, she looked around, and spotted a large man covered in dirt. The man looked up, and waved at her happily. Dusting his hands off, he made his way over to her.

“What brings yeh down this far? It’s a bit chilly, innit?”

She shrugged, zipping her jacket closed. “I was celebrating my birthday up by the lake when your puppy found me.”

The man tilted his head. “Celebratin’ yer birthday all alone?”

“i haven’t got a lot of friends. The ones I do have are busy. So I was having a slice of cake down by the lake.” She giggled, “That rhymes.”

“Well, c’mon in, little one. Name’s Hagrid an’ I take care of anythin’ down here on the grounds.”

“My name’s Lydia. I like your pumpkins. They’re huge!”

Hagrid laughed. “Aren’ they? Come on in now, outta the cold. Let me get yer a present.”

“Oh, no, you really don’t need to-”

“Nonsense, everyone deserves a present on their birthday! How old are yeh, Lydia!”

“Twelve.”

Hagrid was rummaging around the hut, batting the puppy away when it tried to eat whatever Hagrid was holding. “Get, Fang, get! This here’s for Lydia, not you.”

Lydia giggled when Fang came running to her, licking her hands. 

Hagrid mumbled to himself again. “Where is that… Mm no… Ah, here she is! Yeh, this’ll do.” He turned, presenting Lydia with a balled up bunch of paper.

She unwrapped it slowly, aware Hagrid was shifting nervously. A small golden chain fell into her lap, and she picked it up, squinting at what looked to be a pressed daisy inside a glass ball. “Oh, Hagrid! This is so pretty!”

“Ah, it’s not much,” Hagrid said, blushing at her praise, “But yeh deserve somethin’ nice. Do yeh like it?”

Lydia beamed up at him. “Yes! Oh, would you help me with the clasp?” She turned, moving her two plaits out of the way as Hagrid fumbled with the clasp. When it came to rest on her collarbones, she shivered at the coolness. “Thank you, Hagrid, truly. Say, when’s your birthday?”

He waved her off, embarrassed. “Sixth o’ December, but don’ trouble yourself about it, hear? I’m not important.”

“If I’m important you are, too. Do you mind if I stop in again? You’re very kind.”

“Drop by anytime, Lydia! Well, ‘haps not when you should be in class, but other’n that, anytime.”

She giggled, gave Fang a pat, and left for the castle again.

Walking back up the grass to the castle, Lydia could feel anxiety pumping in her chest, clogging up her throat with invisible knots. She had experienced so much unexpected kindness today; First with Fay’s card, then Rosy’s cake and well wishes, then running around with Fang, and finally meeting Hagrid, who had given her a gift without a second thought. She really hoped nothing exciting happened for the rest of today because the excess amount of adrenaline would surely kill her.

Lydia can’t find it in her to complain when something excitingly horrifying happens the next day. Afterall, she had only wished nothing would happen for the rest of yesterday, and she really should know to be more specific when wishing for things. 

What is this excitingly horrifying thing, you may ask? A troll. An actual, real, alive troll roaming the halls of Hogwarts. She had been halfway through her pumpkin flavored ice cream when Professor Quirrell had come into the great hall screaming about a troll. The twins had immediately latched onto her, making sure she was safely with them all the way to the common room. Then, as she tried really hard not to freak out, they had pulled a prank on their brother, Percy. Lydia felt bad, she knew they had only done it to cheer her up, and it was really cruel to Percy. But, she reasoned, it had made her laugh. So she really can’t complain. Percy certainly did though. 

The next morning, Hermione wouldn’t hear a word against Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello loves, I hope you’re all staying safe out there & enjoy this chapter! Next week Lydia makes some more friends.


	7. A Group of Nerds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Now, have you done the notes for chapter four of physics yet?”  
>  “No, I waited for you. Like you asked.”  
> She grinned. “Just testing your loyalty! C’mon, I wanna read about centripetal acceleration.”  
> Lydia shook her head, passing over the textbook and sitting a wide notebook between them so they could both take notes. 
> 
> \----------
> 
> Lydia finds a group of vastly different students who only have one thing in common: They're nerds.

It’s the ninth time Hermione mentions the three headed dog and some trapdoor that Lydia decides she can’t study in the dorm. Before, it was easy to block out Parvati and Lavender gossipping, and to ignore Fay’s toad croaking every few minutes. That had been easy. But blocking out Hermione’s insistent questions (“Lydia, you saw it didn’t you?” and “We’ve got to find out what it is the cerberus is hiding!”) was much more difficult.

The last straw had come early one Saturday morning in November, when Hermione had sat on Lydia’s bed and said, “It’s all just so peculiar. What could possibly be under the trapdoor? Lydia? Lydia, where are you going?”

So, Lydia had gone to find her favorite professor, intending to ask if he would mind her studying while he was grading or something, as she hated to study alone. He had done her one better.

“How do you feel joining a study group?”

“A study group? I hadn’t heard of any.”

He hummed, looking a little smug. “None of the other houses besides my own have official groups. Friends often sit in the library together, but I make sure my Ravens have more...professional study groups.”

“Professional?”

“Yes,” he nodded, “At the beginning of the year I assign an upper year, usually a fourth year, to each first year group. The first year groups are assigned by myself in early September after the first week of lessons.”

“So you’re suggesting I make my own group?”

“No, dear. I’m suggesting you join one of my own groups. I know just the group of first years for you to join, in fact!”

Lydia shrugged. “Yeah sure, I’m down, Professor. But I have a question.”

He hummed.

“How is there more than one group? The year sizes are pretty small once you split us into houses. There’s only ten Gryffindors in my year. If you split it into three per group, there’d only be...about three groups. But you make it sound like there's tons of Raven groups.”

He gave a sad sort of smile. “That is because your year size in itself is very small. Your year has under forty pupils; My year had nearly one hundred and sixty pupils, close to forty pupils in whatever house those students were sorted into.”

“Forty?! But there’s only one dorm for each gender.”

“Ah, but you’re forgetting magic! Hogwarts adjusts to fit each student.”

Lydia sat in thought for a moment, so Professor Flitwick added, “To answer your original question, your year group makes up three groups. I generally try to give the groups four or five students, but as I only have nine Ravens this year, three it was.”

Lydia nodded. “So, you think one of those groups would let me study with them?”

“Why wouldn’t they, my dear?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never fit in before.”

He smiled at her, then called an elf named Penny. She popped in with an excited giggle. “Yes, Master Wicky?”

“Hello, Penny. I was hoping you would fetch one of my Ravens for me. Would you please bring Heidi Marsh here?”

“Right away, Master Wicky!” Penny popped out, leaving them in silence for a few minutes. When Penny returned, it was with a girl holding her hand, slightly bent over because of how tall she was. “You wanted me, Sir?”

Professor Flitwick clapped his hands. “Yes! Heidi, this is Lydia McBrien. Lydia, this is Heidi Marsh. She’s from the study group I mentioned.”

Heidi saluted Lydia goofily, making her giggle and salute back. “She joining our study group then, Professor?”

Professor Flitwick lifted his hands in a sort of shrug. “If she wishes to, I’d like you three to integrate her, yes. Would Terry, Padma, and yourself of course, be alright with that?” 

Heidi gave a lopsided grin. “Hells yeah! Er, I mean, yes Professor, Sir.”

Professor Flitwick laughed, turning to Lydia. “Well, my dear? What do you say?”

Lydia nodded. “I’d like to give it a try.”

Grabbing Lydia’s arm, Heidi grinned. “Great, let’s go!”

Barely letting Lydia exclaim, “Now?!” Heidi ran through the corridors with Lydia in her grasp.

That first meeting went well, and so had the next several. Lydia honestly had no idea how they all worked so well together, because they were all so different.

Terry and Padma clashed the most, because Padma wanted a quiet study environment whereas Terry was always whistling a tune and humming answers to himself. Heidi, after rambling for several minutes, was the quickest and most efficient at getting her work done. She would shut the chatter off like a switch. Lydia wasn’t sure where she fit.

She wasn’t loud like Terry, she didn’t ramble like Heidi, and she wasn’t as smart as Padma. But, for some reason, she and the others had become something like friends over the past weeks.

Padma was especially fun to study with, as she was more interested in Lydia’s Muggle schoolwork than even Lydia herself was. The more time Lydia spent with her, the more she realized Parvati was nothing like Padma. They were similar, of course, but whereas Parvati was obsessed with designing clothing, Padma was obsessed with science. When Lydia had pulled out her Physics textbook and notes, Padma had immediately started taking her own notes.

Terry, Lydia was learning, was always moving. Be it his fingers, feet, quill, or bobbing his head back and forth. If he wasn’t moving he was humming something from a musical; His favorite seemed to be Grease. The only time she had asked what he was singing, Terry had jumped onto the library’s table and started belting the lyrics. She hadn’t made the mistake again.

Heidi was harder to decipher. She acted mean and intimidating, but she was actually very sweet. She thought putting marshmallows in your cocoa was cruel because the crackers might be alive.

With the study group Lydia was finding school easier than ever before. She’d always struggled with academics, even though she loved learning. She had books in her arms constantly because if she didn’t read everyday she would be unable to the next time she chose to read. A doctor had once told her she just had focus issues. 

However, she was now excelling in both her magical and muggle subjects. She was in the top five of her year, only behind Hermione, Padma, Draco Malfoy, and Tracey Davis. She had gotten close to finishing the mathematics curriculum for the year already, and she’d only been working on it for four months!

“Lydia, earth to Lydia!” Padma snapped her fingers in front of Lydia’s eyes. “Hey, you with us?”

“Yeah, just admiring your necklace.”

Padma smiled, looking down at the gold chain with a small cursive  _ ‘p’ _ hanging on it. “Oh, thanks! Parvati has one too, except hers is a capital letter. Now, have you done the notes for chapter four of physics yet?”

“No, I waited for you. Like you asked.”

Padma grinned. “Just testing your loyalty! C’mon, I wanna read about centripetal acceleration.”

Lydia shook her head, passing over the textbook and sitting a wide notebook between them so they could both take notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya lovelies! Super excited to have introduced some new characters! Drink a glass of water and eat something if you haven't already <3  
> Next week Lydia learns what happens if you give grumpy cat a treat! (it's more interesting than it sounds, I promise.)
> 
> Word count: 1193


	8. What Happens If You Give A CAt A Treat?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why isn’t she dead? Is it a slow poison? That’s just cruel you little-”  
> “I didn’t poison her! These are the same treats I give my own cat, I promise.”  
> “Then you put a spell on her.”  
> “I didn’t.”  
> “Kicked her.”  
> “Didn’t do that either. 
> 
> \----------
> 
> Lydia not only makes history by being kind to Filch, she also makes history when the Weasley twins listen to her.

Lydia hadn’t given much thought to Quidditch. She’d never cared much for sports before, so why would she start now? It’s like hating apples all your life then seeing a green one and thinking you’d like it. However, when she had mentioned this offhandedly during study group, Terry had absolutely freaked, and jumped from the table and walked around the library, coming back twenty minutes later with nearly twenty different books all about Quidditch. He had begged her to read them and, because he looked truly desperate, she had. The rules were what had drawn her in, but the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match she had watched last Saturday had only made the interest grow. The maneuvers she had seen didn’t seem logically possible! When Harry Potter had hurtled towards the ground, falling off his broom and catching the snitch in his mouth, her throat had been clogged with some mix between terror and exhilaration. She could understand the fascination. 

Now, she was walking down a corridor to return one of the many books on Quidditch Terry had checked out from the library for her. She was so focused on the pages she tripped over a cat, falling onto her knees. 

She rubbed the irritated skin, standing and readjusting her uniform skirt. The cat looked up at her and gave a yowl. She bent to its level, pulling out a bag of homemade cat treats, She held one out to the cat, giggling as it ate it. 

“Aw, you like that, don’t you, pretty kitty.” She fed it two more, when suddenly Mr. Filch came running at her.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

She jumped in surprise. “Oh, I was just giving this cat some treats.”

“Sure,” Filch scoffed, glaring down at her, not noticing the cat rubbing against Lydia’s legs. “A poisoned treat!”

Lydia wasn’t given a chance to deny the accusation, as Mrs. Norris pawed at the half open treat bag. Lydia pet her head gently. “Sorry, Mrs. Norris. I can’t give you any more.”

Filch sits down across from her, absentmindedly petting his cat. “Why isn’t she dead? Is it a slow poison? That’s just cruel you little-”

“I didn’t poison her! These are the same treats I give my own cat, I promise.”

“Then you put a spell on her.”

“I didn’t.”

“Kicked her.”

“Didn’t do that either. Honestly, I just thought she was a stray in need of some love. I won’t feed her again.”

He stared at her for so long that she stood to leave. Finally, “Why?”

“Sorry?”

“Why haven’t you hurt her?”

Lydia sighed. “Why on earth would I? She’s just a cat. Besides, if she leads you to me and I get into trouble it’s my own fault, ain’t it?” She gave a shrug with the arm not holding her book. Handing him the bag of treats, she smiled. “Here, she seems to like them.”

In fact, Mrs. Norris was trying to crawl up Filch’s leg to get the treats.

She gave the cat, who was halfway up Filch’s torso, a small wave and left for the library, unaware she was the first student in what felt like centuries to Filch to be kind.

Percy Weasley was excited. He had been asking Professor McGonagall endlessly over the last four years to let him host a trivia night for the house. Just one night a month is all he asked. Until today, she had always said no. She had valid reasons of course, after all, the muggle-raised kids wouldn’t understand as much as the magical-raised would. But he had worn her down! In approximately two and a half hours, a voluntary trivia night was to be held in the common room. 

He had spent days agonizing over the details, until Oliver had told him if he didn’t sleep he would take Percy’s clothes to the twins for safe keeping. (As if the twins would keep anything _safe_.) Percy was now sitting on one of the common room’s comfortable armchairs, going over the cards again. A girl suddenly tapped his shoulder. “Hey, Percy. What’re you doing?”

He jumped, turning. “Lydia, are you coming to the trivia event tonight?’

“Of course. It sounds exciting. I hear you’re spearheading it.”

He nodded proudly. “Of course. Are your friends coming?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Percy, my only Gryffindor friends are the twins.”

His eyes widened. “Oh Merlin, they’re going to corrupt you!” A pause. “Oh no, they’re going to corrupt my trivia night!”

She giggled. “Don’t worry, I’ll get them to tone it down. After all, I’m really excited about this.”

Percy gave her hand a pat. “Thank goodness for you, Lydia.”

She laughed and set her bag down by Percy’s chair to wait by the nervously twitching prefect’s side.

So the trivia night didn’t go absolutely perfect, like Percy had wanted. Not very many Gryffindors actually showed up; The majority of those who did come were from the Quidditch team, or they had been too lazy to leave. The good thing was that when asked if they wished to do it again next month, nearly half the room had voted yes.

There had been one point where the twins had been about to set off a dungbomb, but Lydia had put a stop to it - while answering her question, even!

George had been about to light it, when Lydia had stood. “The Chizpurfle’s Classification by the Ministry is double X - George Weasley, do not light that dungbomb or I’m going to rearrange your organs so your heartbeat comes from your pinky toe!”

The tip of her wand glowed purple, and George immediately stuffed the dungbomb back in his pocket, jumping over the back of a sofa and cowering behind Angelina Johnson. Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet laughed and high fived Lydia.

Dean Thomas raised his hand. “Trivia question over here - Who’s the only one that can threaten the twins and not be pranked on the spot?” 

Fay Dunbar cheered, “Lydia McBrien!”

“Correctomundo! Ten points to Fay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, hello my lovelies! What are your thoughts on trivia night? On Filch? I made Mrs. Norris out of character, but I'm a cat person and I had to let Mrs. Norris have one kind student. The chapter is short, but next week's definitely makes up for that with 2k words.  
> Next week Lydia will find company in another student (new character yay!) and have an adventure of her own! 
> 
> Word count: 993


	9. The Secret Map (And No It’s Not Dora’s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “-and as I’ve already said, George, you absolutely cannot impale Marcus Flint! You’d totally get like, a penalty for that.”  
>  “Okay fine,” George sighs, “What if we proposed a friendly-”  
> Fred interrupts, “Nah, it wouldn’t be too friendly if we impaled Flint, now would it?”  
>  “It’d be friendly to Oliver.”
> 
> \- - - - - - - - - -
> 
> Lydia gets taken from the castle, punches someone, and receives a gift (or many).

It was nearing the end of December and Lydia was sad. She knew it was silly, she had no real right to be. Her and Hermione had never confirmed they were friends; they were acquaintances. Besides, she had Fred and George, and her ‘study buddies’ as Heidi called them. But when Hermone had stopped speaking to her unless out of necessity, choosing to spend time with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley… It hurt. She had forgotten what it felt like to be lonely, but boy was she lonely. The rest of her friends - besides the twins - were all at home for Christmas break already, so when the twins were off on their own, Lydia had no one.

Thus why she was moping in a chair near the Fat Lady’s portrait in the common room. She was pretty sure everyone in the house was out, probably getting into some kind of trouble, which is why when she heard her name called she immediately swung her fist. 

“Ow,  _ Lydia! _ ”

Lydia opened her eyes, which she had clenched shut, and gasped. “Neville, oh my god, I’m so sorry! Here, let me see.” 

She reached out a hand and rested it gently over his jaw, gliding her thumb over the cheekbone she had hit. She hummed to herself, and whispered, “Oh I’m so sorry, baby.”

The skin under her fingers flushed pink. Neville squeaked out, “Baby?”

She blushed as well. “Sorry. Are you alright?”

He nodded, bringing her hand down with his own. “Yeah, doesn’t hurt really.” A lie. “Are  _ you _ okay? You look - sorry to be rude but - you look awful! You’re all mopey.”

She gave a sad smile. “Yeah, I’m being silly is all.”

“Tell me.” He backtracked, “I mean, only if you want!”

“It’s just… Before I came here I’d never had a friend. The friends I had were ones that I was forced to for the family business, you know?”

Neville had no idea, but he nodded. 

“So it’s probably weird for you.”

She nodded. “Yes, it is! And Hermione was the first one to be like, an acquaintance. I thought we were becoming friends, but she basically dropped me as soon as Harry and Ron became her friend. So now I’m really lonely. Don’t get me wrong, the twins are like, my best friends, but they’re not always around. The dorm is so lonely, especially when it’s just me here for the holidays. It means I have room to think.”

Neville nodded. “I get that. Without Dean and Seamus, I’ve realized just how much time Ron and Harry spend together. It’s a bit strange to be honest. If I didn’t know better I’d think they were brothers.”

She laughed. “Yeah, same.”

Neville summoned his courage and squeezed her hand. “I’ll be your friend. Two lonelys make a...not...lonely. Right?”

“Right,” She giggles, squeezing back. 

The next few days Neville sat with her near constantly. He was welcomed into their small group at meals easily, and Lydia was having so much fun Christmas snuck up on her. Since hearing both her mother and grandfather were working all Christmas Day she had been trying to forget the holiday was coming up. 

But that all went out the window when she woke to a mountain of presents at the end of her bed. She could hardly believe it! The last time she’d had even  _ one  _ present had been her sixth birthday, so it was overwhelming. She felt very silly when she realized her face was wet with tears, but she was too happy to care. 

“LYDIA!” Percy yelled up the stairs, “COME DOWN, WE’RE OPENING PRESENTS.”

Gathering her presents in her arms, she skipped down the staircase. Only to be immediately accosted by the twins. 

“Lydia, what happened?”

“Why were you crying?”

She sniffled. “It’s stupid, don’t worry.”

She went to walk past them, but they grabbed her still-full-of-presents arms. 

“Nothing is stupid-”

“-if it’s made you upset.”

She smiled. “These are my first presents in six years, I’m just happy is all.”

“Whoa, how come you didn’t get presents for so long?” Ron asks, alerting the trio to their audience. 

Lydia blushed and Percy says, “Hey, she doesn’t have to explain herself if she doesn’t want to.”

Lydia shakes her head. “When I was six I had my first bout of accidental magic. My dad wasn’t exactly happy. My mom and grandpa don’t make enough money for presents.”

“Even for birthdays?” Ron asks again. 

She nods, letting Fred and George pull her down to sit on the floor. The rest of their group follows. She notices Neville sit down next to Harry. 

Lydia feels satisfied with the gifts she had gotten for her friends. For Fred she had found a book called  _ Practical Jokes Through The Ages: 1732-1982 _ ; She had charmed a necklace for George by herself, which connected to the daisy necklace she always wore. If she pressed the lion charm on her necklace, it would connect to the identical charm on his and they could talk like through a telephone; Percy had gotten the biography of Nobby Leach, the 28th Minister for Magic, and had teared up a little; She had sent Hermione a magical hair clip that would keep her bushy hair out of her face, even around potions; Padma was sent a book about the goblin wars from the view of a goblin child, called “ _ War and Gore: A Childhood _ ; Terry received a travel size pack of various strawberry scented shampoos and colognes, to satisfy his strawberry addiction; Lydia had drawn a flipbook of Harry catching the snitch in his mouth, and charmed the drawn snitch to twinkle; Heidi was sent scorpion grass flowers charmed to rebloom on special occasions, like birthdays and Christmas; Ron had been the most difficult to gift, but Lydia had bought a package of various Muggle sweets for him to gouge on, which he had almost immediately; Professor Flitwick would be given his present later, which was a pair of bow ties charmed to change patterns; Finally, she had gifted Filch another bag of treats for Mrs. Norris. 

Though she liked to think she wasn’t very materialistic, she couldn’t help the joy she felt when she opened her own presents. While she loved all her presents (The quills Padma had bought and audio recording of  _ Les Mis _ Terry sent by owl were really cool!) her favorites were from the Weasleys, a Dogbreath potion that made her breath come out as fire which Fred brewed; A nose biting teacup from George; A few butterfly clips to put inside her plaits from Percy; And finally, Mrs. Weasley had made Lydia a bright red jumper that was too soft to not be magic. And the chocolate biscuits were better than any she’d ever had before. 

Her mom and grandfather had even saved up the money for a necklace with three pearls resting between her collarbones. Her dad had mailed a singular post-it note with the words:  _ Merry Christmas.  _

  
  


Time passes very quickly until the thirtieth of March. Her days were spent by Neville’s side studying, and trying to avoid being pranked by the twins. Lydia was walking to the library, since the twins were in Hogsmeade and Neville was resting from a cold. She figured she would find a book to read since she had all her homework finished. 

Then, the back of her shirt was grabbed and she was pulled into a dark room. Her instinct was to kick whoever had grabbed her, but she realized four hands had grabbed her, not one. She held herself back, twisting so she could look at Fred and George. 

“Do that ever again I’m slapping you both.”

George grins. “You wouldn’t slap us!”

Without so much as a blink, Lydia took both hands and slapped each of them on a cheek. “Won’t I?”

They both rubbed at their cheeks. 

She continued, “So why did you kidnap me? And bring me...where are we exactly?”

“We did not-!”

“We’re in an abandoned classroom,” Fred says, efficient as ever, “Used to be for another charms class, but the year sizes are smaller now so we’ve only got Flitty.”

“Flitwick,” she corrected absentmindedly, running a finger against the dusting books and desks. 

They both roll their eyes, and George hands her a coat. “Put this on.”

She eyed the coat. However they’d gotten it, she had no idea, but it was in her size. “Why do I need this? The castle isn’t that cold.”

“We’re going somewhere.”

“Where, exactly?”

“We...can’t tell you.” George rubbed the back of his neck in awkwardness. 

Lydia raised an eyebrow and turned to Fred. “Fred, you’ve gotta tell me, please.”

Fred looked away before he said yes. “Do you trust me?”

“What kind of-”

George cut her off, “Do-”

“-you-“

“-trust us?” They both smiled at her hopefully. 

She paused. Did she trust them? She’d only known them for six months, but she found herself nodding. “Yes, I trust you.”

They beamed at each other then draped the coat over her. 

Fred grabbed her hand and dragged her to a witch statue, while George muttered at a piece of parchment. “Minnie, corridor to the right.”

Fred grunted, then helped Lydia climb into the now open statue.

As they started walking, Lydia asked, “Where are we?”

“Just keep walking,” George told her, tapping the map and saying some kind of code. 

She crumbled under breath but did so. “Is this safe?”

The twins stopped their walking. Fred asked, “Do you trust us?”

“I think so, but you’ve got to admit this is weird. Usually you two are more open with your weird plans.”

They grinned at each other. They pulled her along again, ignoring her grumbling. 

Hogsmeade. She was in goddamn Hogsmeade! And two years early! The twins were insane, truly. She loved being their friend. It had to be the most colorful and bubbling place she had ever seen. Granted, she had grown up in Greenrock, a bumfuck town with nothing interesting. 

The twins had changed her appearance a bit with a very slight glamor. They had changed her blue eyes to green and her hair to blonde, then made her as tall as them. After hiding her scar, they had also given her a fake lip ring, for some reason. Now, a twin on either side, they were heading back to the castle from Zonko’s. 

“-and as I’ve already said, George, you absolutely cannot impale Marcus Flint! You’d totally get like, a penalty for that.”

“Okay fine,” George sighs, “What if we proposed a friendly-”

Fred interrupts, “Nah, it wouldn’t be too friendly if we impaled Flint, now would it?”

“It’d be friendly to Oliver.”

Lydia snorted. “Okay but Oliver - why, hello!” A yellow finch landed on Fred’s shoulder. Lydia reaches a finger towards it. “ _ You’re alright, come here. _ ”

Fred and George share a bewildered look, but it goes unnoticed as the bird hops up onto Lydia's finger and gives a cheep. 

“ _ Yes, I can speak to you. To most birds, actually. You landed on my friend, do you think I can put you back on a perch? _ ”

“ _ I can perch on your finger. _ ”

She shook her head. “ _ Sorry, but I have to go back to school. I’m not allowed to have birds. Well - owls are allowed, but only because they carry our mail. _ ”

“ _ Ugh. Humans are always trying to use us animals! _ ”

“ _ That’s what I told them, but humans are pretty stupid. Say, what’s your name? _ ”

“ _ Birds don’t really use names. _ ”

“ _ Oh. Well I’m gonna call you Finch if we meet again. Okay? _ ”

“ _ Creative. _ ” The bird flew away. 

Lydia looked back to Fred and George to see them gaping. “What?”

“You were just…”

Fred was lost for words, so George exclaimed,

“You were just chirping like a bird!”

“Is that what it sounds like? Weird.”

“You  _ knew _ you could do that?”

For the first time all day she looked uncomfortable. “It’s nothing special, I try not to. Just forget it.”

Fred touched her shoulder, but she repeated, “Leave it.”

The twins frowned at each other, and George whispered, “I thought it was pretty cool.”

“Yeah, me too.”

She looked at them hopefully. “Really? Not too weird?”

“You’re friends with us. Since when do you care about weird?”

She huffed out a sad laugh. “Whatever.”

Fred wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to a stop. “Don’t let your crown fall, Princess.”

“What the fuck?” Lydia laughed. 

George grinned. “You’re our princess and we’re your jesters! So don’t let that crown fall or well have to make bad puns.”

She snorted and grabbed George’s arm so they were both looped around her neck. “You two are ridiculous. I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi loves! I kinda messed up the chapters, so I’m gonna fix that today (which means two chapters today and none tomorrow as is scheduled). I blame my mistake entirely on the fact I’ve been reading too much fanfiction and not been sleeping enough.  
>  On another note, I’m hoping to include that little bit with the bird at the end more often, not as just a one time thing. I figure she could kind of talk to birds like Fawkes as well, considering he’s a bird. It would be different dialects depending where the bird is from if that makes sense?   
> Word count: 2119


	10. So Apparently I’m Not Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Come get me if you need, alright? I’ll make sure Lee keeps his pants on.”  
> “He had them on before right?”  
> “...”  
> Lydia groaned. “Please tell him I’m sorry.”  
> Fred laughed and kissed the top of her head. 
> 
> \- - - - - - - - - - -
> 
> In which Lydia punches a Malfoy, is escorted to strict Madam Pomfrey, and barges into the twins’ dorm. Not necessarily in that order.

“Next year I’m getting you exempt from exams.”

Lydia laughed as Percy and the twins manhandled her from the common room’s floor to the hospital wing. “I don’t think even you can accomplish that, Perce.”

The twins chuckled before saying as one, “We’ll help.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “Seriously Lydia, what were you thinking? You can’t go three days without food! Honestly you’re very smart so I don’t understand-”

Lydia cleared her throat as they reached the doors to the hospital wing. “I know, Percy. But I figured that was better than vomiting it all up. I’ve been so nauseous I can barely drink without gagging.”

All three Weasleys frowned in concern, before they helped her through the door and onto the nearest bed. Percy went to fetch Madam Pomfrey while the twins sat on either side of Lydia. 

Madam Pomfrey came bustling out immediately, giving an impressive glare to Lydia. “What’s this I hear about you skipping _three days_ of meals, Miss McBrien?”

“Er, sorry?”

Percy gave a snort, then covered it with a hand. He cleared his throat. “Do you need us to leave, Madam Pomfrey?”

The matron nodded. “Yes, I believe I’m going to have a long talk with Miss McBrien here. Go on, get yourselves some lunch. Like _someone_ should have been doing these past few days.”

They left, and Lydia fidgeted. 

Madam Pomfrey handed her two vials of potion. 

“One to stimulate your appetite, the other for this nausea I hear you’ve been having.” She snapped her fingers, and a chubby elf popped in, its face smeared with jam. “Nora, get me a bowl of apple slices and peanut butter please.” 

A moment later, there was a ceramic bowl full with diced apples and a bit of peanut butter on the side in Lydia's lap. 

Madam Pomfrey stared her down. “You’re going to take those potions, then explain to me exactly what’s going on with your body. Then, when you’ve finished, you will eat those apples and peanut butter. You’re going to stay the night, longer if I think it necessary. Understood?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Lydia sighed, then chugged both potions with barely a grimace. Then, “Okay so I woke up on Wednesday and I was really nauseous but that’s nothing new, so I went to breakfast and I just couldn’t eat anything more than a few bites of my cereal. Then at lunch, it was the same thing. And it went on until I couldn’t stomach anything. Now, I can barely drink water without gagging.”

“And why didn’t you come to me for help?”

Lydia blushed, and rubbed the side of her face in embarrassment. The apples were nearly gone. “I kinda forgot I could? I mean, back home I just have to deal with it because the doctors don’t know what’s wrong and they just say to eat anyway. But isn’t it counterproductive if I vomit?”

Madam Pomfrey nodded. “Any other information I should know?”

“I don’t think so? I mean, are you looking for medical history?”

Madam Pomfrey shook her head and gestured with a hand to a folder. “I have your medical records. I meant anything else pertaining to your nausea recently. Are you nervous, did you eat too much sugar?”

“I avoid sugar when possible so probably not, and no, I’m not nervous. My friends think I was worried about exams and that’s why I wasn’t eating but I kinda just used studying as a way to distract from my hunger. ‘Cause I couldn’t get anything down but I was very hungry.”

Madam Pomfrey hummed as she took the ceramic bowl away. “Hungry still?” 

“No, Ma’am. I’m sorry.”

Madam Pomfrey sighed. “I know you are probably very scared, aren’t you? It’s hard when we don’t know why our bodies are hurting us.”

Lydia nods. “It’s really scary.”

Madam Pomfrey smoothed down the top of one of Lydia's plaits. “Rest, now. Stay sitting up while you digest. I’ll be back with dinner in half an hour, then you’ll go to bed.”

“How long are you keeping me?”

“Well, considering at the beginning of the year you weighed around 7 stone and you are now 6, it might be a while.”

Lydia paled. “I lost that much weight in three days?”

Madam Pomfrey gave her a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you back to a healthy weight.”

Lydia nodded, and just as Madam Pomfrey turned to leave, she asked, “Hey Madam Pomfrey?”

“Yes?”

“How do you turn off the magic seeing thing?”

That had turned into a very long discussion on its own. (“No, seeing magic isn’t normal dear, it’s a wonderful gift.” And, “Yes, these glasses will help, you poor thing!”)

Ron was very upset. First he had to help with Hagrid’s stupid dragon - okay that was all that had been really awful lately, but it should count for like, three Awful Points™️. His hand hurt so bad, and Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t stop looking at him shrewdly when she came to check on it. 

Luckily, someone had come in fairly soon after he had and he knew they were awake as he could hear them. Standing from his bed with a glance around for Madam Pomfrey, he walked over to their bed and sat in the nearest chair. 

“Hey, wanna play chess?”

She manages to jump while laying down. “Shit, Ron, you terrified me! What are you doing here?”

“Got bit by a...um, I forgot.”

“You forgot what you got a gruesome bite from?” she asked dryly. 

He sputtered for a moment, then nodded. 

She chuckled. “Yeah, sure.”

He pouted. “What are you in for, then?”

“Nausea. Can’t eat so I’m in here.”

He frowned. “That sounds like the worst thing. I love food.”

She giggled and, with a glance at his bitten hand said, “I’m sure there’s worse things.”

“Hey, you didn’t have those glasses before!”

“Astute observation. Madam Pomfrey gave me them so I didn’t get headaches and so much nausea.”

“You look like Harry now, if he had blue eyes and slightly lighter hair.”

She laughed again. 

He nudged the chessboard toward her. “So, white or black?”

Exams had just finished, and Lydia felt exhausted. It had been kind of fun, trying to remember everything. It was like dividing fractions; Fun until it gets hard. She was so exhausted. 

So, when she walked into the common room to see Neville laying stiff as a board on his back near the portrait, she had pinched herself. And, according to the red mark on her forearm, she wasn’t hallucinating.

Rushing to kneel by his side, she gently slapped his face. “Are you alright, Nev? What the fuck happened?”

She couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but removing her glasses helped her see there were white strands of magic wrapped around his limbs ropes. She patted his cheek, said, “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll get help.” and had run up the staircases to the third year boys’ dorms. 

She only gave a brief knock before opening the door and bypassing a shocked Lee, to grab Fred by his shirt collar and lead him down the stairs, explaining what she knew. 

“-And Neville looks like a statue! But he’s breathing so I’m not sure.”

Fred made a circular motion with his wand, and helped Neville stand. “Alright, mate?”

Neville shook his limbs about. “I think?”

“Good. Who did this?”

“Hermione. She, Ron, and Harry all snuck out. I tried to stop them but she used the body bind spell.”

Fred hummed. “Yeah, careful how far you move. You’ll be stiff for a while yet.”

After Lydia and Neville had sat down safely on a couch, Fred tousled the former’s hair, where it was securely plaited. “Come get me if you need, alright? I’ll make sure Lee keeps his pants on.”

“He had them on before right?”

“...”

Lydia groaned. “ _Please_ tell him I’m sorry.”

Fred laughed and kissed the top of her head. 

Gryffindor had won the house cup, by quite a plot twist if Lydia had ever heard one. Another plot twist was the fact that Lydia had punched Draco Malfoy so hard his nose had broken upon impact. The twins were very proud.

To be fair, the boy had deserved it.

Lydia had finished packing for the trip home, and had been walking around for the last time until next September. Malfoy had als been walking, and snorted when he saw her. “You got glasses to cover that ugly scar? Well it hasn’t worked, I’m afraid.”

“Fuck off, Malfoy.”

“Aw, did I hurt your feelings, Scarface? I’m terribly sorry you have to look at yourself every mor- AH!”

She had felt so much rage towards him, and she had expressed it by connecting her fist to his face. “Sorry, I must have misunderstood. I thought you wanted me to fix your ugly nose.”

When Malfoy was the blood dripping from his chin onto his robes, he fainted.

She had gotten a week of detentions next year, but she still thinks Malfoy deserved to be knocked down a peg. 

Lydia would be very tired the next day on the train home, sitting with Heid, Terry, and Anthony Goldstein. Professor McGonagall had kept her until late in the night with a lecture on physical violence and made her write an essay on how she should have handled things better.

At the very bottom of her essay Lydia had written: _If Malfoy should insult me again I should punch his teeth out so he can’t snitch_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello loves! So this chapter finishes up the school year, and the first installment of the series: under the radar.  
>  Next Week: colder than stone - year two. Make sure to subscribe to the series if you want to be notified of that & future installments!
> 
> Word count: 1582


End file.
